N'Djamena

N'Djamena, «ehn JAHM uh nuh», population 721,000 ( 2005), is the capital of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near to its confluence with the Logone River, the city is primarily an administrative center. It is also a regional market for livestock, salt, dates, and grains. Meat processing is the chief industry. In addition to being the national capital, it is also the capital of Chari-Baguirmi prefecture. N'Djamena is located at 12°6'47" North, 15°2'57" East (12.113056, 15.049167). [1]

N'Djamena was founded as Fort-Lamy by the French in 1900, and named after an army officer who had been killed in a battle a few days before. Its name was changed to N'Djamena (taken from the Arab name of a nearby village meaning "place of rest") in 1973.

The city was partly sacked in the civil war of the late 1970s. Many inhabitants fled at the time but the population has since regrown strongly.

The city lies across the Chari River from Kousséri in Cameroon to which it is linked by a bridge. It is the largest city in the nation and is divided into ten " arrondissements". The city includes the Nassara Strip commercial centre and residential areas such as Mbololo, Chagoua, Paris Congo and Moursal.

Attractions in the city include the Chad National Museum. It has a university, schools of administration and veterinary medicine, American International School of N’Djamena and an international airport.

N'Djamena has been twinned with the city of Toulouse, in France, since 1980.